I have a flock of 27. One rooster and 26 hens. We have had a lot of issues recently, so I am hopeful for help brainstorming how to fix the problems.
In the late Spring, we did a lot of ground work down by the coop (tractors, tilling, noise). That lead to some stress and rooster issues. We...
Oh wow!!!! I am so glad he didn't get your eye! Ouch.
Last night, after the little ones were in bed, we let Roo out of his bachelor pad, and he was a bit antsy, but no attacking. He flitted around a bit, but it wasn't even the dance. He was a bit pushy with the hens, but DH pushed him...
Thank you, both, for your stories. I don't think he has that "I'm going to get you," look to him. When DH gets home tonight we will have a little experiment and see how Roo behaves regarding the shoes. I didn't mention it in my original post, but he was also attacking our neighbour. The...
Oops, hit reply before I finished. I am worried we have judged him poorly. He has been living a bachelor life for a few days, and of course is very calm. He looks at us with this perplexed face and coos at us when we come into the barn. I KNOW I don't want to chance him attacking the kids...
Thanks, everyone for your replies.
He is nearing one. He will be one at the end of June. His spurs are just nubs, but they are coming. He has been mating hens for quite a while.
I may have found a home for him where he will live in large run, not free ranged and seldomly are there...
We have an accidental rooster. We didn't plan on having one, but we do, and he has been lovely. He is nearing a year old, and he comes when called, eats out of our hands, lets my kids pick him up. He also takes really good care of the ladies when they are free ranging.
Well, this weekend...
This is exactly what is happening with my broody barred rock. She is not being aggressive, kind of mutters at me as I take the eggs or lift her off the nest to close the nesting boxes. She settles for a bit on the ground and then goes about her business of eating and drinking and all. We...
Reading this with curiousity. I have my first broody hen right now and she is being pretty stubborn about it. We are not in the position to let her hatch any, although we would like to be at some point. Just not now. I keep trying to explain that to her, but she is not getting it.
We have had three raccoons hanging around our house today. And, by hanging around, I mean on the porch, scratching at the door like a cat wanting dinner, staring at the children and the old hound dog through the glass. Two of them were bagged by a neighbour for us and one got away. Another...
That's awesome! It reminds me of those psych experiments with the baby monkeys and various "fake" mother monkeys.
I have a small gang of loners. For some reason they all split up and sleep in various stupid locations (under the roost to get pooped on? Honestly???) and I inevitably move...
Do you have kids? My kids remind me if I forget, which can happen in a busy life. I have never gone to bed without shutting the coop, but I have left it longer than I would like in the evening. After months of this, I am in a good routine, but if we do something different (go out in the...
We have 26 hens and 1 rooster. They are mixed breeds, and all pretty good layers. We avg about 2 dozen eggs a day, so have lots to sell (12 regular customers a week) and plenty for us.
I am having the same issue here. We almost cannot keep up with the demand. I told DH we need more chickens.
We have sold 3 doz today. On avg we sell 2 doz a day.
Because of our mild weather here, and the gorgeous sunny afternoons (thus the run being a muddy mudpit), I have been letting our flock out for some free range time in the afternoons. This afternoon, the hens and one rooster were in the back, and I was at the front of the house, waiting for the...
We put a slanted roof, as PP suggested on top of our nesting boxes (basically, it triangulates the top of the box and the coop wall) so the girls cannot sit on top of the nesting boxes. My DH built the coop so there are slats under the roost. Under that is a rectangular compartment, which he...
I regularly throw eggs that have been cracked or broken in the coop (usually one of the kids gathering recklessly) to the girls. They run for it and it is gone in seconds. But, if an egg cracks in the nesting boxes they will not touch it. They will only eat them if I throw them to the ground.